Machine for forming pearl buttons



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-$heet 1.

' J. H. WESSON. MACHINE FOR FORMING PEARL BUTTONS.

No. 560,250. Patented May 1 -J. H. WESSON.

MACHINE FOR FORMING PEARL BUTTONS.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

Patented May 19, 1896.

W 1nd E5555 J. 1W I UNITED STATES PATENT EETCE.

JOSEPH I-lAlVES VESSON, OF SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS.

MACHENE FOR'FORIVHNG PEARL BUTTONS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 560,250, dated May 19,1896.

Application filed August 3, 1892. Serial No, 442,074. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH HAWEs WEs- SON, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Springfield, in the county of Hampden and State ofMassachusetts, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Machinesfor Forming .Pearl Buttons, of which the following is a specification,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part thereof.

My invention relates to machines for forming buttons from blanks ofmother-of-pearl, shell, and other similar substances by redueing oneface of the blank to a smooth surface and forming thereon the desireddesign for the face of the button.

The object of the invention is to provide a machine for this purposewhich will form buttons of any desired design with great rapidity andwith perfect accuracy.

A further object is to provide such a machine with means whereby anautomatic feed of blanks to and of completed buttons from the formingdevices is secured, thereby rendering the constant attention of anoperator thereto unnecessary.

To these ends myinvention consists in the machine constructed andoperating as hereinafter fully described, and particularly pointed outin the claims.

Referring to the drawings, in which like letters and numerals designatelike parts in the several views, Figure 1 is a side elevation, partly insection, of a button forming machine embodying my invention. alongitudinal vertical section of the blankfeeding and button-formingdevices. Fig. 3 is an end View of the blank-holding shaft. Fig. 4 is aside and edge view of the cutter.

The letter a designates the bed of the ma chine, which is preferablymade similar to the ordinary planer-bed, upon which are located astationary'head-stock b and a tail-stock c, which is capable of alimited movement toward and away from said head-stock. \Vithin suitablebearings in the head-stockis mounted a hollow shaft d, which carries theconepulleys d and bevel-gear (1 said shaft receiving its motion by belt(1 from a suitably-disposed counter-shaft e, as shown in Fig. 1. Toenable said shaft to securely hold a button-blank at the end thereofadjacent to the Fig. 2 is tail-stock, it is provided with two or moreslits d extending back from said end for a short distance, to secure agripping action thereof upon the blank, and its inner surface at saidend is preferably serrated, as shown in Fig. 3, to more effectuallyprevent rotation of the blank therein. WVithin the tail-stock c, inaxial alinement with shaft (Z, is mounted a cutter-head f, which iscapable of a limited longitudinal movement, but is lfeld from rotationby a pin f, projecting therefrom into a slot f in the tail-stock, asshown in Fig. 1, or by any suitable means for such purpose. A spring fhearing at one end against a collar on said cutter-head and at itsopposite end against the tail-stock, presses the cutterhead withconsiderable force in the direction of shaft d, and a toothed cam g,revolubly mounted upon the tail-stock and-operated by a belt g from thecounter-shaft e by its engagement with a pin f 4 on the cutter-head,serves to impart to the latter a rapid succession of movements in theopposite direction in opposition to the stress of said spring. At itsfront end, or that end adjacent to shaft d, the cutter-head is providedwith a socket and set-screw for receiving and holding the shank of thecutter h, as shown in Fig. 2. Said eutter is preferably made of chiselform, as

shown more clearly in Fig. 4, and has its cut-' ting edge provided withone or more recesses h, or other irregularities, to correspond with thedesign which it is desired to produce upon the face of the button.

It will be obvious that by the combined action of sprin g f and cam gthe cutter mounted in the front Lend of the cutter-head will be causedto strike the face of a button-blank held by the adjacent end of shaftcl a rapid succession of blows in aplane perpendicular to the face ofsaid blank, each succeeding blow striking a new surface, owing to the revolving movement of the blank with said shaft. Such action of the cuttervery quickly reduces the face of the blank to the desired contour forthe face of the button, but to efface the marks left by the cutter itbecomes necessary to complete the operation by holding the edge of thecutter continuously against the face of the blank for a brief period andthereby secure a smoothing action thereof,

and this result I secure automatically by pro- 1 viding means forperiodically moving the tailstock toward the head-stock a sufficientdistance to move the teeth of cam g out of en gagement with pin f on thecutter-head, the cutter-head being held against such movement with thetail-stock by the engagement of the cutter with the blank against whichit is operating, and then returning the tail-stock to its formerposition. As herein shown, such periodic movement of the tail-stock issecured by means of an elbow-lever 7t, pivoted at 7a to the bed andhaving its short arm pivotally connected to the tail-stock and its longarm in operative engagement with a cam m on a shaft m, journaled in thebed, for moving the same in one direction and a weight n and cord n formoving it in the opposite direction. The shaft 712 carries abevel-gear mand receives its motion from the gear (1 on shaft (1 through theintermediate shaft 0, carrying the bevel-gears o 0 which mesh with saidgears (l and m respectively. The number of revolutions of the blankduring the chopping action of the cutter and before it begins itssmoothing action can be made to correspond with the character of thestock being used by changing the speed of shaft (1, provision for whichis made by the cone-pulleys shown in Fig. 1, very hard stock requiring agreater number of revolutions than stock which is of a softer nature.

The machine as thus far described is adapted to accurately reduce theface of buttonblanks to any desired contour and with great rapidity, butto render it unnecessary for an attendant to stand over the machine andinsert a new blank as fast as they are completed, and thereby nullify toa great extent the sav ing in time gained by the rapid operation of themachine, I have devised means whereby a large number of blanks can beplaced in the machine at one time and automatically fed to the clutchingdevice at the end of shaft (1 as fast as a blank is completed, thecompleted blanks being delivered upon the bed a or into any suitablereceptacle placed thereon, which means will next be described. The boreof the hollow shaft (Z is of such diameter as to receive one of theblanks 2, placed edgewise, and to permit the latter to slide thereinlongitudinall y of the shaft, so that when the shaft is entirely filledwith blanks, placed side by side, pressure applied to the rearmost blankwill cause the entire column to move laterally within the shaft. At itsrear end, or the end opposite to that at which its blankclutching meansis located, said shaft (1 is flush with a chute-block p, suitablysecured to the head-stock, which block is provided with a borecorresponding in diameter with that of the shaft and forming acontinuation thereof. A pl ungcrp, fitted to the bore of said block andlongitudinally movable therein, is pivotally connected at its rear endto avertically-disposed lever 11 pivoted between its ends to a bracketprojecting from the headstocknvhich lever at its lower end is heldine11- gagement with a faee-can1 m carried at the rear end of shaft in bya spring piwhereby said lever is operated periodically to cause anadvancing and receding movement of said plunger within said block. Inthe front side of said. block 19 is located the vertical chute 1:),which is of a width corresponding substantially with the diameter of theblanks 2 and which is in open communication atits lower end with thebore of said block. At its upper end said chute is in open communicationwith a magazine or blank-holder 5, adapted to hold a large number ofblanks and to deliver them in an edgewise position to said chute. Thereare obviously many ways in which this magazine can be formed within thespirit of the invention; but, as herein shown, it is composed of twocircular shells or drums 3 4, open at one end, and the latter of whichis secured to the upper end of the chute-block p. The drum 3 is of lessdiameter than the drum -l-,whercby it is adapted to be received withinthe latter, and it is centrally mounted upon a shaft 5, suitablyjournaled at the center of drum +1: and carrying a band'pulley 6, bywhich motion is transmitted thereto by belt '7 from counter-shaft e. Thedrum 3 is thus adapted to be revolved within drum 4: and to therebyimpart a rolling movement to the blanks placed therein, and said formerdrum preferably made of an increasing diameter from its closed to itsopen end, whereby said rolling blanks are caused to approach the openmouth of chute p and to enter the same, as represented in Fig. 2. A doorSin the closed end of drum 3 serves to admit the blanks to the latter.The length of movement of plunger 1) within block 1) correspondssubstantially with the thickness of one of the blanks 2, andconsequently when the shaft (Z is entirely filled with blanks, asrepresented in Fig. 2, the forward movement of the plunger will forcethe blank at the front end of the shaft entirely out of the bore of thelatter, said blank dropping down upon the bed a or into a receptacleplaced thereon, while the second blank will be advanced to the extremeend of the shaft, where it is securely held by the clutching meansbefore described. Upon the rearward.movement of the plunger thelowermost blank of those in chute 11 drops into the bore of block 1'),thereby causing the next forward movement of the plunger to impart tothe entire column of blanks within the shaft a movement corresponding tothe thickness of one blank, and so on as long as any blanks remain inthe magazine 8. The parts are so timed that the advance movement of theplunger occurs simultaneously with or immediately following the movementof the tail-stock away from the head-stock, caused by the weight n, or,in other words, upon the completion of the smoothing action of thecutter upon a blank, so that when the cutter recommences its choppingmovement it will be upon a new blank.

The operation of the machine thus constructed will be obvious from theforegoing description. A quantity of the circular blanks 2 beinginserted within the drum 3 of the magazine and the machine set inoperation, said blanks will pass one after another through chute 1) intothe bore of block 19, and will be advanced within the bore of shaft clby a succession of lateral movements, due to the action of plunger 19,until said shaft is completely filled with blanks, as shown in Fig. 2,the cutter h during such time having its regular movement, but doing nowork. Then the foremost one of the column of blanks reaches the frontend of said shaft, it is firmly held against movement by the compressionof the end of the shaft thereon, due to the slits d, and by the serratedinner surface of the shaft, and the rapid chopping action of the cutterupon its outermost face begins, the cutter striking a new point of saidsurface at each blow because of the rotation of the blank with theshaft. Such action continues until, by the action of lever 7a and cam m,the tail-stock is moved to cause pin f on the cutter-head to clear camg, when the cutter is pressed steadily against the face of the blank byspring f and thereby removes from said face the marks left by theprevious action thereof. The tail-stock is then retracted by weight n,the completed blank is forced out of shaft (Z by the action of plunger1), and the cutter begins its chopping action upon the succeeding blank,which is now held by the clutching devices of the shaft. Such operationcontinues automatically as long as the magazine .9 is kept supplied withblanks, the attention of an operator being required merely to see thatthe magazine does not become empty.

By means of the machine operating as described the faces of pearl,shell, and other similar buttons can be reduced to any desired contourwith great rapidity and with entire uniformity. It will be observed thatthe blow of the cutter against the face of the blank is produced by thepressure of spring f instead of by positive means, whereby th cutter isenabled to adapt itself to any unevenness in the surface of the blankwhich may exist, and its perfect operation under all circumstances isthereby assured. The holes forming the eyes of the button can be drilledeither before the blanks are operated upon by the machine hereindescribed or afterward, as may be desired, and the preliminary roundingof the edges of the blanks can be done by any of the machines now usedfor such purpose.

By the use of the machine herein described a material saving in the costof manufacture the class of buttons for which it is degned is effected,while the machine itself is comparativelysimple and inexpensive inconstruction.

IIavin g thus fully described my invention, what I claim, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a button-forming machine, a revolving clutch for holding abutton-blank, a cutter-head movably mounted in a movable support andcarrying a chisel-shaped cutter, a spring pressing said cutter-headtoward said clutch, a toothed cam mounted upon said sup port andengaging aprojection on the cutterhead for imparting a rapid successionof movements to the latter in opposition to the stress of said spring, acam-actuated lever for periodically moving said support toward theclutch, and means, as a weight, for moving it in the opposite direction,combined and operatin g substantially as set forth.

2. In a machine for forming buttons, a bed having mounted thereon astationary headstock and a movable tail-stock, a hollow shaft journaledin said head-stock and having means at its front end for clutching abuttonblank, means substantially as described for forcing a column ofbutton-blanks through said shaft by a series of intermittent movements,a cutter-head mounted for longitudinal movement in said tail-stock andcarrying a cutter, and means substantially as described for imparting tosaid cutter-head a reciprocatory movement to cause the cutter to strikea succession of blows upon the foremost blank within said shaft,combined and operating substantially as set forth.

3. In a button-formin g machine, a bed having mounted thereon astationary headstock and a movable tail-stock, a hollow shaft j ournaledin said headstock and terminating at its front end with means forholding a buttonblank against rotation th erein, means substantially asdescribed for forcing a column of button-blanks through said shaft by aseries of step-by-step movements, a longitudinally-movable cutter-headmounted on said tail-stock and carrying a chisel-shaped cutter, a springpressing said cutter-head toward the end of said hollow shaft, means, asa toothed cam, for-intermittently moving it in the opposite direction,and means substantially as described for intermittently moving thetailstock toward and awayfrom said head-stock combined and operatingsubstantially as set forth.

4. In a button-forming machine, the combination with the hollow shaftfor holding a column of button blanks and the cutter adapted to engagethe surface of the frontmost blank of said column, of a plunger adaptedto engage the rearmost blank of the column, means for imparting anintermittent movement to said plunger, a magazine or holder for aquantity of blanks, and a chute leading from said magazine to the boreof said hollow shaft, at the rear end of the latter, arranged andoperating substantially as described.

5. In a button-forming machine, the combination with a bed havingmounted thereon a stationary head-stock and a movable tailstock, of ahollow shaft j ournaled in said head-stock and provided at its front endwith IIO means for clutching a button-blank, a cutterhead mounted onsaid tail-stock and carrying a cutter, a spring pressing saidcutter-head toward said hollow shaft, a toothed cam mounted on thetail-stock and engaging a projection on the cutter-head-for moving thelatter in the opposite direction, means for revolving said cam, acam-shaft journaled in said bed, a lever actuated by a cam on said shaftfor intermittently moving the tail-stock toward the head-stock, and acord and Weight or their-equivalent for moving said tail-stock in theopposite direction, substantially as set forth.

(5. The combination with bed cahead-block Z), and hollow shaft (Zjournaled in the latter and carrying pulley cl, of shaft on journaled inthe bed and carrying face-ca1n m chutehlock 1), plunger 1), lever 19 andintermediate connections between said shaft m and shaft (l whereby theformer is driven by the latter, substantially as described.

7. The combination with the hollow shaft (1, of chute-block 29 providedwith chute p and magazine .9 located atthe upper end of for revolvingthe latter, substantially as described.

JOSEPH IIAWES XVESSON. lVitn esses:

F. M. \VEssoN, S. PAYNE.

